By Cameron Brooks
Local authorities across the north and north-east should have the final say
on whether or not controversial onshore windfarms are approved, it was
proposed yesterday.
The Conservatives said the Scottish Government should not be allowed to
overrule “informed” decisions made by members of council planning committees.
Research carried out by the party in 2012 showed 20 out of 63 appeals made
to SNP ministers were upheld.
A spokeswoman for the government, which considers applications for
windfarms in excess of 50 megawatts, claimed appeals were only considered
by ministers in “specific circumstances”
She insisted that turbine decisions made by local planning authorities were
supported in the “significant majority of cases”
Tory energy spokesman Murdo Fraser said: “It’s completely unacceptable for
a council to make an informed decision on a windfarm application after
consulting experts and local communities, only to be overruled by SNP
ministers in Edinburgh.”
The Tories at Westminster have said they would give local authorities south
of the border the final say on applications if they win the 2015 general
election. They will also end to subsiding new windfarms.
Peter Argyle, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services
committee, said: “I would certainly support a call for local authorities to
be left to determine their own planning policies in relation to onshore wind.”
Highland anti-wind campaigner Lyndsey Ward, of Kiltarlity said the proposal
represented a “welcome step”.
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